FIRST TEAM
10/28/2016

Hertha match preview: "“We want to stay unbeaten”

Fourth place meets third in a top table Bundesliga clash in Hoffeheim, as TSG welcome Hertha. Julian Nagelsmann and achtzehn.de give you all you need to know ahead of the game on matchday 9.

Julian Nagelsmann on…

…the opposition.

They have a similar style of play to Köln, who knocked us out of the cup this week. Hertha have been very consistent in their performance since last season. They are always dangerous going forward. They have a few players who have developed really well, especially players like Weiser and Haraguchi. Both are among the best players in the league at the moment.

…the squad.

We are all fit, even though a lot of players have 120 minutes worth of action in the system from the Köln game. But, I think the extra-minutes we played in the cup, show that we are physically in good shape. I think we could have even given more at that stage and we created a lot of good chances in extra-time. Furthermore, the pure physical strain of the game would be covered in a normal training week. It is the mental strain of playing 120 minutes that will weigh more on the players. But I think a week of games where you play on Saturday, Wednesday and Sunday is fine. (Marth Uth and Pirmin Schwegler will be out of the game against Hertha BSC.)

…the sporting situation 1

The first 20 minutes we played against Köln, were the best we’ve played so far this season. The team was close to doing everything I wanted them to. We were just missing that crucial second goal. We have a lot of players who like to get forward, but now and then we missed someone who could get behind their defence. Still, I thought we were very strong. I hope we can continue that on. We also want to keep our unbeaten league record intact on Sunday evening.

…the sporting situation 2

I am still thrilled and fully focused on the team in each and every training session. That hasn’t changed since February.

…the sporting situation 3

If you look at the way the table currently stands and the results of the past few weeks, then you could call us one of the top teams. Long-term, however, it takes a lot more than that to consider yourself a top team. This sort of status can only be confirmed through consistent performances over months and years and we are a long way off that yet. These are the most important traits of top teams and based on that, we aren’t one. The point at which we can become one lies well in the future. 

Head-to-head record:

TSG have come up against Hertha twelve times in the Bundesliga, with “Hoffe” triumphing on six occasions to the Capital club’s five wins – the spoils have been shared twice. The aggregate score line for these dozen matches is 21-14 in favour of TSG, so history dictates Hoffenheim are clear favourites for the weekend’s encounter…

The opposition’s form:

So far this season, Hertha have won five, drawn two and lost once, while in the DFB Cup, they’re also through to the round of 16. Their only defeat of the season came at the hands of FC Bayern in Munich, which of course can happen… Hertha impressively took a point from their clash in Dortmund two matchdays ago and last week beat 1. FC Köln. To cut to the chase – Hertha are in good form at the moment.

The key battle:

Pal dardai has formed a strong team in Berlin, which performs as exactly that. One player in particular is standing out for them at the moment and that’s former Hoffenheim man, Veded Ibesevic. With six Bundesliga goals and three assists, “Vedo” has rediscovered his old Hoffenheim form and thanks to this purple patch, is currently top of the league scoring chart. If you stop Ibisevic, you’ll stand a better chance of stopping Hertha.

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